Abu Ghraib Tactics Taught?

TV EYE

June 25, 2004|By ROGER CATLIN; Courant TV Critic

Of the 595 detainees in bright orange jumpsuits in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, only three have so far been charged with terrorism-related offenses.

And despite around-the-clock interrogations, only about 50 detainees continue to provide intelligence of any value, the chief of interrogations tells Peter Jennings on a special edition of ``20/20'' (ABC, 10 p.m.).

Mostly captured in Afghanistan more than two years ago, the detainees from 40 countries are held without rights, without legal representation, and don't have to be treated in accordance to the Geneva Convention, according to a ruling signed by President Bush.

Now there is some evidence that the interrogation tactics used at notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq may have been taught at Guantanamo's Camp Delta, where the treatment of prisoners in a new kind of war, against terror, are considered free from the restrictions of the Geneva Convention.

News on the issue is moving so quickly, it may not be the best time to pause to summarize everything in an hourlong documentary. Alternately, there's no better time to catch up on where things stand at Guantanamo than this report, which includes comments from the commanding general at Guantanamo, former administration officials and former prisoners. Jennings also follows the plight of a Kuwaiti family who were at first relieved to hear their son was in American hands.